I jumped up, pulling my jockeys up in order to protect..stuff. I looked around and saw nothing. Then I looked up and saw what must have been el más grande, pinche, feo, araña, that I have ever seen!(The Spanish phrase meant big ugly spider, and a little more added for emphasis). The body was about two inches long, and with the legs it was the size of my palm, which is pretty big.
I was suddenly transported back to playing Doom III, where these huge spiders with skeleton heads come out of the walls and I had a full blown case of the heebie jeebies. They should put a warning on that game, "Not recommended for persons with mild cases of arachnophobia". After I got my composure, I killed the spider with my tennis shoe. I took my shower and dried off and put my robe on and turned to shave and there was another one!
I suddenly rethought the whole clean cut look, and decided to get dressed first. I came back and killed this one. I didn´t have the energy to do anything else. I went to get some breakfast before I continued facing one of my minor phobias that felt sort of major today. I mean, what´s next-Sarah Brady in the White House? It was really enough for one day.
After gallo pinto, watermelon, fresh pineapple, and coffee, I was ready to face the menace again. I asked my host mother if she had anything to kill spiders with and she said real off-handedly, "oh yeah, I keep a big sprayer of insecticide just for that, its over there by the washing machine."
So I sprayed the hole where they are coming out, and sprayed under the toilet,(I like surprises, but not while I am there), then headed to school. The Lonely Planet Guide says most of the spiders in Costa Rica are not venemous, and that most of them are harmless. This is confirmed by other places, and everybody around here agrees that the spiders will not kill you and they are good for killing other pests.
It doesn´t make them any less creepy, ok?
Juanito
On the MP3 Player:"Island Life" by Michael Franks
Next Costa Rican Post: Helado
No comments:
Post a Comment